The disappearance of traditional religious orders is changing the landscape of the Church

Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, who said more than 3,000 people leave religious life each year, with Pope Francis (CNS)

An immense debt is owed to the orders which have been the backbone of the Church’s mission for the last five hundred years

What is the big story of our times, from the ecclesial perspective? I think it may be this (thanks to Francis Phillips for bringing it to our attention): the annual exodus from the religious life of 3,000 or more souls.

More than anything else, this disappearance from the Catholic scene of the traditional religious orders will change the landscape of the Church. Indeed, it already has done so. Many of us of a certain age remember being taught by nuns and religious priests and brothers. Only recently a child in primary school, to whom I gave a picture of Saint Faustina, asked me: “What’s a nun?”

The Church owes an immense debt to the religious orders. During the last five hundred years, ever since the Counter-Reformation, the religious orders have been the backbone of the Church’s mission both at home and abroad. But now, in Europe and North America at least, most of the religious orders seem to have run their course. Not all, but most; and there are of course new religious movements that have emerged: but the generational change is there for all to see.

It is interesting to note that the curial Archbishop who made the comments about people leaving religious life was himself for ten years Minister General of the Friars Minor. Archbishop Carballo knows, as do we all, that the Second Vatican Council was meant to usher in the renewal of religious life: in fact, the opposite happened – the post-Conciliar era has seen the decay of religious life. And this is why so many younger religious are leaving their orders, because there is no real point in being part of a religious community that exists on paper only. It might be a ‘canonical reality’ as they love to say, but that is the equivalent of a marriage that is being kept going only for the sake of the children. Many religious orders continue, for the time being, but they are in fact dead in all but name, and just waiting for their surviving members to die off. This is what the Archbishop means when he talks of “absence of spiritual life” and “loss of a sense of community.”

In 1996 the Vatican issued a document called Vita Consecrata, after a Synod on consecrated life, in which it said, as I remember reading at the time, that religious should live in their communities, and only live outside them if there were serious reason to do so, and then for one year only. Even back then, it was clear from my perspective, that this was a dead letter, for there were many religious who were in living solitary lives, some of whom were even superiors, who had elected to live away from the communities over which they had oversight. When religious no longer live together, it is pretty clear that communal life has ceased to exist. So, why continue to be an ‘on paper only’ religious? Why keep up the legal fiction? A glance at the figures published by the Catholic Directory might give the impression that numbers are healthy in some orders, but it ought to be kept in mind that many of these member of orders are members in name only.

When institutions are in decline, the surface is the last thing to go. Hence the Byzantine Empire had all the outward appearances of a great polity minutes before its collapse, although these realities had long ago been hollowed out from within. Similarly with religious orders today. Many (again, pleased note, not all) have Generals and Provincials and novitiates, and rule books and documents and all the outward appearances of the religious life, but they have long ago ceased to be the orders they once were. Only the surface remains.

What should be done? Given that many of these moribund institutions may still have a long shadow life left in them, and given that they are sometimes sitting on huge amounts of money and resources that may not be being used for their original purpose, the best thing is for the Vatican (which has this power) to suppress them and put their resources to better use – a use, incidentally, more in keeping with the intentions of the original donors. I am not confident that this will be done, as the vested interests are too strong. But it ought to be done. This is one important reform that Pope Francis should tackle. As a Jesuit, he knows the religious life. And as a Jesuit, he knows where the reforms ought to begin too, perhaps.

The faces of these men provide a fine answer to our resident prophets of doom.

Romulus

Ben, for the past month or so I’ve been training a very eager Jesuit scholastic to perform the ministry of subdeacon. Another also wants to learn and will come for training as soon as he receives permission. My godson, a junior MC at our traditional parish, recently decided to enter the Jesuit novitiate. The chaplain of our altar servers’ guild (and regular celebrant of Solemn Mass in the X-form most Sundays) is a Jesuit, though occasionally he’s displaced when one of his brother Jesuits, working near Rome, is in town and is available to celebrate that Mass. A third Jesuit also has celebrated Solemn Mass for our parish in the past 60 days. Two of these priests are less than 45 years old; the third is in his mid-60s. Finally, not long ago, one of these Jesuits was asked by some transitional (Jesuit) deacons to accompany them on a pre-ordination retreat at the thoroughly traditional Benedictine abbey at Clear Creek, a daughter house of Fontgombault.

I know the SJs have much to answer for. What you need to know is that they are beginning to supply that answer.

NatOns

Yes it is awesome! Thanks for this site, they (and you) are in my prayers. Here is one of my favourite pieces of modern artistry from Blackfriar Music ..

Why this is not No 1 on the Hit Parade – if it hasn’t been, or is not already (I am a tad behind on the Pop Top Twenty) – well, it is a puzzle to me.

Benedict Carter

What is the ‘global south’? do you mean the Southern Hemisphere?

Jesuits in India – but what sort of Jesuits are they?

As for the Pope, the Jesuits lost the Ignatian charism years ago. Indeed, Ignatius himself is villified by Jesuits for his conversion of the heathen …..

$28180339

…As you are in my prayers along with the rest of the CH bloggers.

“Why this is not No 1 on the Hit Parade…”? He is not singing about lewd topics nor is he dressed like Lady Gaga.

Anne

“Traditional religious orders” may be right. Dominicans, Franciscans and Benedictines are forming new associations, inspired by St. Dominic, St. Francis and St. Benedict. The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist in Michigan have, in 16 years, grown from 4 to 120 sisters, average age 29!

Benedict Carter

Maybe even the Jesuits can be re-formed by such men. I pray so. Thanks Romulus for this sign of hope.

James Scott

Where did you pick that one up, Benedict? Not quite up to your usual standard of argumentation I’m sad to say! And I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘global south’ before – another way of talking about the Third World.
The Jesuits, just like the rest of the orders, are still in the process of re-discovering their founder. But they’ve probably gone further in that regard that most. Still they probably haven’t yet grasped his importance for the future of religious life, and for the Church. These things take time. But the Holy Spirit is still at work in the Church – no need to lapse into an ultimate pessimism.

Benedict Carter

I read what their website and other works have said. This is old news – the modern Jesuits rejected their own Founder!

Benedict Carter

Not prophets of doom – recorders of doom, if you will. The damage has already been done, it doesn’t lie in the future but in the immediate past and in the present.

PersonsHero

The Dominicans had 4 enter there novitiate last year and go on to take first vows and have had a further 4 enter this year. If this were to happen each year, the Province would experience a rapid period of growth.

anon

over-adherence to a set of new formal regulations that marginalised the charism of Saint Ignatius for a time, during the long and interesting history of the Society!

lewispbuckingham

A Jesuit, who has reached the age of one hundred years, is ministering to the poor and maginalised and saying mass here in Sydney.
He has nothing to answer for, much to celebrate.

Benedict Carter

So what were these “new formal regulations” ‘Anon’? Tell us about them in detail, please. And have they been repealed?

I am glad at least that you admit it – the Society of Jesus in their betrayal of the Church and of the world they care far too much about, also betrayed their own Founder. And in those betrayals is the Jesuits’ betrayal of the whole Catholic faithful.

Suppress the Jesuits now!

http://jabbapapa.wordpress.com/ Julian Lord

There is an interesting trend now towards the blending of the Modern with the Ancient, which is a blessing after 40+ years of conflict of the one against the other.

http://jabbapapa.wordpress.com/ Julian Lord

The expression “global south” appears to be an invention of Americans, and it appears to essentially designate what’s south of the US-Mexico border.

As such, it is inherently meaningless.

The rest of your post is overly optimistic, and seems very ill-informed.

http://jabbapapa.wordpress.com/ Julian Lord

That’s going a bit too far — according to Pope Francis’ own characterisations, two trends exist within the Society.

I would say there’s the one that you, and any other orthodox Catholic, traditionalist or otherwise, should heartily reject ; and a more “mystical” or spiritual trend, focussed squarely upon the salvation of souls and the celebration of the Eucharistic Communion.

Our former and our current PP are both SJ, the first being the Cantor at the diocesan TLM and serving a Novus Ordo that is the closest I’ve ever seen to being simply a variation of the traditional Mass, the second having a singular devotion to the Real Presence in the Eucharist that is very joyful to witness, and at whose Mass one Sunday I felt myself to be in the Corporeal Presence of Our Lord in Eucharist, before, during, and after taking Communion.

Such young and holy priests as these are not far from the Kingdom.

I think that we can be grateful for the Society of Jesus that the most highly ranked Jesuit today is firmly encamped in this second and better trend, as every hour that passes is yet another encouragement for those in the Society to abandon the false Jesuitism that was developed over the course of the 20th century, and particularly in its false Liberation Theology.

NatOns

Yes, indeed.

‘Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.’ Matt 13 : 52.

;o)

NatOns

Many thanks!

:0)

PaulF

True. The picture is much more mixed than it looks. The syncretists are good at getting into pole position, hence their agenda gets unduly highlighted in websites etc.

rjt1

Bear in mind that many of the orders which have declined in Europe have a worldwide presence, and their resources can be transferred to the areas of growth.

As one who spent six years in a long-established religious order (without taking final vows), I have to say I blame the decline on the infiltration of an adulterated theology which saps the life out of any group to which it gains entry. Dissent and a lack of discipline with a concomitant loss of identity and commitment to what the Order stands for (rather than just some vague personally defined mission that takes people any which way) are associated with it. The first place to start is in the seminaries: these need to be truly Catholic.

anon

Dear ‘Clement’
“Epitome Instituti…a compendium made for practical purposes,that came to be seen as a replacement for the Constitutions…the foundational text” Pope Francis. Quoted in an interview with Antonio Spadaro SJ: A Big Heart Open to God, available as a download from Thinking Faith.
As a member of the Lay Christian Life Community-never suppressed! I can only give detail of its General Principles. To celebrate the 450th anniversary, perhaps you might consider a CLC Cromer start-up ?(Norwich would be even better!)
‘Anon’

Deacon_Augustine

It is quite possible to be orthodox in the N.O. world as long as one takes the “Council” with the necessary pinch of salt it requires, and views it as only the most recent Council in a long line of Councils of mixed pedigree.

The Catholic Faith will always be the Catholic Faith, whatever any Council of bishops tries to do to it. A Council can only clarify and deepen understanding of the Faith – it cannot change it. History judges Councils by how well they achieved these objectives while ambiguities and confusions are gradually brushed under the carpet. The same will happen for Vatican II once all its protagonists are dead.

John Fisher

It is not true to say the Byzantine Empire had great polity before its collapse. It was conquered by Islamic armies that slowly strangled it militarily and economically. The Byzantines as good Christians should tried to avoid war and were defeated slowly. Religious life was thriving in the last days of the Empire which in any event did continue in Greek lands after the fall of Constantinople.
Religious life had mitigated itself out of existence. Most religious do not live in community, pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and offer the Sacraments in any way that has any continuity. If a religious talks about offering the Traditional Mass or keeping the observances and customs of their order they are ganged up on. What followed after Vatican II was a deliberate destruction of religious life. Through changed to the liturgical calendar, abandoning of the various religious rites of the orders, the traditional Mass and chant, the horarium, and its substitution with a lazy careerist life of a bachelor with ambitions.
Even within the more regular abbeys the New liturgical books have forced a wedge between the past and present. Those that oppose this are called disobedient by authority.
The Church has done it to itself and like the tonsure has consigned to the garbage bin any expression that might culturally manisfest and express religious life in the now.

Suriani

The pope says he is against “clericalism”. The greatest damage to the Church over the last 2000 years has been done by clerics. The pastors have led the faithful into dens of wolves. Does His Holiness have this in mind?